From Grant Applications to Real Life

I spend a lot of my time writing about my clients’ work, and I’ve had the great fortune to see their work in person. I just wrapped time in Louisiana, where I got to see multiple projects for which I’d written applications, some as long ago as February 2025 (shout out National Endowment for the Arts funding). Some of the folks I work with there were shocked that I was in town–but this is the unique nature of my life and work!

The best part of my job isn’t writing the grants, although I do love that part. It’s seeing the programs those grants ultimately fund. And in observing grant-funded programs in recent months, what struck me most wasn’t how different the work felt from the applications. It was how closely it matched.

What remote work can and can’t capture

I can do so much of my work remotely! In fact, it’s why I picked this particular profession to build my work-from-the-road business model. I review guidelines, build grant strategies, draft narratives, and manage timelines from wherever I happen to be parked in a given week. I spend a lot of time in documents, PDFs, portals, spreadsheets, and so many virtual meetings.

But, even when clients are generous with materials, I’m still experiencing their work secondhand. I’m interpreting descriptions, reviewing socials, and asking follow-up questions to fill in the gap or give voice to assumptions. I’m very good at translation like this, but it’s still translation.

How I arrange my travel schedule around clients

As a digital nomad (and my family’s primary route planner), I have more flexibility than most consultants to be at the right place at the right time. Sometimes that means planning our itinerary around the client (this leg down to Louisiana was certainly not on the way to this year’s primary western destination). Or, I might adjust the route to add them in. Every once in a while, that might even mean flying in for a specific event. Yes, I do get on airplanes!

I can’t always make it happen, but when I can, I love that I get these unique experiences and perspectives of being on the ground with the client. That way, I’m not just observing the work: I’m living it firsthand alongside the community the nonprofit serves.

The added bonus of seeing the work in person

Having been on the staff side of the performing arts world for many years, I know in my soul the logistics required to put together a big event. I can use my imagination when writing about it to funders (in particularly busy grant seasons, I still have the occasional production nightmares). That’s part of what makes me so effective in writing. I’ve lived it, sweated through it, and probably cried about it.

But collecting the sights, sounds, and smells of a place leaves an afterglow that is different from the feeling of having just submitted a grant. It comes from seeing the work come to life.

Seeing children stream toward a parade programmed just for them. Hearing the audience ask deeply resonant questions of the filmmakers after a documentary screening. Watching Spanish-speaking students light up to a bilingual performance that represents their culture. These things give me goosebumps. And when the show started with the required acknowledgment of the grant funder? Even better.

It got me thinking about the particular bonus of working in the arts and culture space, but also the difficulty of capturing it on paper. So much of what makes the work successful and meaningful is experiential. It’s ephemeral. This is a lesson we learned so deeply during the pandemic, when the only way we could attend a concert was to fire up Zoom. There’s a different magnitude behind the work when you see it in person, with a community.

I also love getting to deepen the relationships I’ve nurtured with program staff over months and years. If you’ve had lots of virtual meetings with someone only to find out that they’re much taller (or shorter) than you expected, you understand what I mean. Actually getting to shake hands with the staff (or hug them! I love a hugger) helps personalize the work experience.

What I notice when I see the work up close

After seeing multiple client projects in person over the last few years, I’ve noticed a few patterns.

First, strong operations translate to strong programs. And strong operations don’t have to mean paid administrators. Some organizations have built a base of committed volunteers and board members who carry out many of the functions a paid staff member might do at a larger organization. The few staff they do have are incredibly well-suited to their roles and make everyone else’s load lighter. (I’m thinking specifically of a production director who is so efficient that they can load out a five-day, seven-stage festival in hours, and their warehouse is spotless days later. Amazing.)

Second, the organizations that describe their work well to me during onboarding are also the ones documenting it well for their marketing efforts. After helping multiple organizations get their grant programs organized and streamlined, I realize that a robust marketing function lays a lot of groundwork for me as a grant pro. When marketing has told a great story across social media and email newsletters, I have a head start on crafting grant narratives.

Finally, staff morale matters for the long-term resilience of an organization. I’m often coming into the live production at a stressful time. If things are going wrong in production (and they always are, somewhere, as I well know) but staff still have smiles on their faces, that’s a huge win. Funders often want to know about how nonprofits will guarantee long-term sustainability. Seeing a team that can band together during difficulty underscores how a nonprofit can continue its work well into the future.

When the work and the grant align

So, part of the reason I can write effectively for my clients is that they give me strong material to work with from the beginning. Even if their grant program is new or is still getting organized, they can describe what they do clearly because they’ve built internal habits around sharing information and getting that out to their audience. They work together as a team, even when they’re inundated with work.

Seeing my clients’ work in person surfaces something I didn’t realize I knew: if your internal execution is strong, the grant writing becomes a reflection of what’s already there. Great grant programs don’t create a funder-centered version of their work that sounds good on paper. They reflect what is already happening.

Building a strong team separate from your grant work makes a difference in whether you’re chasing details or have those details in hand. If your nonprofit is struggling to translate your programs to your grant work, my Increase Your Mileage service helps nonprofits level up using their existing team.